Mexico’s calling

There’s new information on what drives U.S. retirees to relocate south of the border.

Harold Hunt, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, surveyed existing studies and found that of the roughly 600,000 Americans who live in Mexico — 400,000 of which have bought homes— the No. 1 driver is affordability. Texas retirees are looking to cut housing costs. If possible they hope to find a “housing bargain,” Hunt wrote in the newest issue of the center’s Tierra Grande magazine. That’s what made Baja California so popular among retirees from Southern California.

And while previous groups of retirees have been content to move into rural communities, most retirees will be looking for modern amenities and infrastructure as well as cultural events to sample.

But developers first must figure out how to deal with Texans’ fears about driving through the Mexican interior.